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Thursday, July 17, 2003
posted by gbarto at 5:53 AM:
Santa Monica Wreck Kills NinePolice look into why 86-year-old plowed into popular L.A.-area farmers market
Absolutely incredible and horrible. The stories have all downplayed whether he was competent to drive or whether there had been questions about his driving, but it's a question that needs to be asked, and not just about this guy. Coming from a small town, I've known of too many cases where every excuse in the book was made about why not to take the keys away from people who were a threat to public safety. Some of those cases ended most tragically. For those dodging the question of whether pop or grandpa is still up to driving because it would break his heart to lose his wheels, note that an awful lot of hearts got broken today, including this elderly driver's if he understands what he did. Not to put too fine a point on it, but if this guy still held his driver's license because no one had the heart to take it away, it's an error in judgment that ranks with selling assault weapons to Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Such errors should prompt a serious reconsideration of where our best intentions might lead. To put it another way, remember the old - and sick - joke:
When I die, I want it to be peacefully and in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming and yelling like his passengers.The joke isn't that funny, anyway, but it's decidedly unfunny if you're one of the people that gets involved - knowingly or unknowingly - in its becoming reality. If someone you love suffers unusual memory lapses, shows signs of Alzheimer's, etc., don't do them the "favor" of at least letting them drive. Make sure they get regularly tested for their driving ability and keep them off the roads and out of the headlines if there's doubt.
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